Hogweed – Flower of the Cold War
It’s lacerating, it’s impotency-producing, it’s invasive… It’s Giant Hogweed!! Who’d have guessed that a relative of carrot and Queen Anne’s lace could sterilize goats and scar the faces of children? This season’s floral horror tale may be found in E.O. Torriero’s fine article about Heracleum…
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Erosion v. Eruption Lupine in Iceland
Is Lupinus nootkatensis a panacea or peril? Grain by grain, Iceland is blowing away. Soil erosion is a huge problem on this treeless, windy island, and the harsh climate discourages most plants from taking hold. In 1945, someone (we’ve yet to discover who) had the…
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Heartthrob of the Fall Line
Along an ancient border of the American Southeast, it’s showtime for the rocky shoals spider lily. Throughout the land of gracious drawl—the Southeastern United States—people refer to “The Fall Line,” where the Appalachian Piedmont meets the coastal Atlantic plain. “Its name arises from the occurrence…
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Gregarious Flowering
Officials in NE India, fearing that the oncoming bamboo bloom will bring famine, struggle to get a grip on this runaway resource. Mizoram, a teardrop hanging between Bangladesh and Myanmar, is wet, hilly land covered with forests. Mizo lore and ag scientists agree there’s a…
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